The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-07-14

sS"S4 pau ~ Iuo Kay CCOWu were en-.
barked, when Judge Thurston's car;
riage drove down to the pier, and
Miss E!llnor; very pale, but smiling,
alighted. DR.. 6cudder hurried up to re-
celve her. He was the chief physician
IN the village, and an old, trusted
friend In the Thurston family:
1T was kind in you to give me this
great pleasure" heard her say to
him. ~.
Look" whispered Nettyy; "iather
and mother had to como down to see
her off! They make an idol OF her.
1t is perfectly ridiculous! They are
going with her to New York tomorrow.
1t Is three years since I was in New
York. Hurry! hurry! Do got aboard,
all of your
There were two boats yet at the
pier. large one into which Lou, Net
ty, and |, with our chaperon and the
two rowers were soon seated. The
other was the Dart, q small bateau
belonging to DR.. Scudder. 1t was usu.
ally anchored out of sight at the end
OF the pier. Just as he pushed off, the
doctor gave orders 10 have it brought
round for Miss Ellinor. A cry of dis.
may rose from the crowd of boys on
the pier. The pretty little Dart, which
everybody knew with it's scarlet and
black bands, was lying on the shore
covered with mud.
''What is the matter?" said the doc
tor, angrily, "she was clean and dry
last night"
Our rowers stopped to see the end
OF the affair. l noticed that Netty
ordered them, impatiently, to 90 on,
and that Jim Stryper, q ''river-rat,"
skunk to the back of the crowd.
The Dart was examined by DR.. Scud-
der. He found that two large holes
had been broken in her hull.
''She is useless" said the doctor,
quietly; whoever did it made thor
oush work OF it. Is there no other
boat that l can hire for the dav?"
"Therc is not a boat left; the picnic
kers have taken them ALL" the boys
assured him.
:'Go on! 60 on" whispered Netty;
"there is no room for them here"
Our boat shot into the middle of the
stream, but not before we heard the
doctor say, II would not have you lose
this day for my years income, Eli
nor. l will find out who did it, and
punish them to the extent of the law"
mo, do not" she said, earnestly.
"14et it 20: it matters little, after ali. -
l fancied that her eyes followed Netty
with a sad reproach as we rowed
away.
you should not have done that
l said to her.
She laughed uneasily.
II? l did nothing. 1t was jim,
Stryper; but it cost all my months
allowance. Jim charges high"
1t was successful picnic. The salad
WIS delicious, the scenery was beauti-
full; the 'beaux" attentive; but l had
q guilty, uncomfortable feeling in my
heart all day. Netty talked and
laughed loudly. It seemed to mo that
she was trying to deaden some inward
pain.
1t was late when we came home,
tired and sleepy. l walked up the
street with her.
"How dark the house isl" she said.
'Come in with me q minute, Kitty"
A dim lamp was burning in the hall.
Mrs. Stone, Judge Thurston's sister
came out to meet US.
you here, Aunt Nary" cried Netty
"What is the matter?"
Nothing. my dear; but your father
and mother took Ellinor to New York
to-day, as she could not 20 up the
river. DIR. Scudtler went with them.
am to stay with you until they re
turn"
"Dr. Scudder went with them! What
for? Is''-
II may as we'll tell you, Netty;
think you should have been told be-
fore, but Ellinor wished to spare you
She has a disease for which the only
cure is an operation. They have gone
to surgeon in New York to perform
it,"
II never knew
mo, Ellinor complained very little
but that is the reason why she did
not marry. Surely you know? She was
engaged for years to a man whom she
loved very dearly. She wanted to &C
up the river to-day, they told me. Sht
had passed SO many happy days with
him there when she was younger and
she had q kind of homesickness tc
look at the place once again and tc
say good-by to it; but something pre-
vented her.
Netty started up and began to pace
up and down the hall without a word
Mrs. Stone was crying softly.
"She Thinks" she went on, ''that
she never will come back"
''Never-come back! Why, you said
the operation would cure her! Not
come back! My Ellinor!'
II said the operation was the only
hope of cure. But the danger is that
she may not live through it."
Netty came up to Mrs. Stone. He1
face had grown old and pinched ii
those few minutes.
"Tell me the truth! What Is thu
chance that she will live?"
Control yourself, Netty. Ellinol
has been bearing this terrible suffer
ing for years; she is weakened by it.
DR.. Scudder told me that there WAS
scarcely a hope that she would sur
vive the operation
Netty turned and RON to her owr
room and locked the door. The cry
she gave when she was alone rang ir
my ears as crept home.
Two days afterward the operation
took place. The village that day was
very quiet. Even the children knew
that Miss Ellinor was making the last
effort for life. She was verv dear 20 Vi
all; We never had known how dear un
til then. Her mother wrote atnoon
"Before the surgeons came into thu
room, she bade US farewell, and said
Kiss Netty for me, and tell her how
dearly l love her. In an hour w
shall know the result"
The whole village waited. A mes
senger from every house was at the
telegraph Office. l think We all prayed
for her that day.
In the evening the dispatch came
from DR.. Scudder: 1T is all over
she's at rest"
From the night when l left her alone
in her room had not dared to 60
near Netty.
But the day of the funeral I went
up with some flowers which had
gone up the river to gather, in ths
xo~l:.k g. no,~ ~ - <ha 1oo n nsr1 rosoI,